Ext 6116/46(S) 'Secret Weekly Political Intelligence Summaries, nos 356-416, August 1946-November 1947' [‎153v] (310/978)

2,002. The Congress ended on the evening
of the 18th August. M. Mollet later ex
plained that the “essential difference’'
between his group and the supporters of
M. Kamadier’s policy was that “a certain
number of our comrades ’’ subordinated the
“ application of a programme to being in
the Government.’’ “They prefer to
abandon the programme so as to keep their
place, added M. Mollet; “ we, on the
contrary, say programme first.”
On the 16th August M. C. F. Baron,
Governor of French India, announced im
pending reforms for French India—
Pondicherry. Chandernagore, Karikal,
Mahe and Yanam—which are tantamount
to complete autonomy subject to “ a united
federal bond.” The title of Governor is to
be changed to “ Commissioner of the Re
public.” “When the great neighbour
nation has a firm constitution,” said
M. Baron, “ the population of French
India will be able to decide its future in
complete sovereignty.” These territories,
with a population of about 400,000 (of
whom only about 300 are Europeans), are
at present represented by one Deputy in the
National Assembly and by two Councillors
in the Council of the Republic. As a first
gesture a number of tiny enclaves (loges)
are being ceded forthwith to the Indian
Union. It appears that the French are not
a little perturbed regarding the future of
their major Indian possessions. There is
an unwillingness to part with them both for
economic as well as sentimental reasons :
there is also the question of the precedent
which any surrender of them might create.
Nationalism, however, has manifested itself
here as strongly as elsewhere in India.
M. Bollaert, French High Commissioner
for Indo-China, arrived somewhat unex
pectedly from Saigon on the 15th August.
To journalists who questioned him at the
airport he gave no indication of the purpose
of his visit beyond saying that he had come
for consultations with the Government “ on
various questions affecting Indo-China,”
and that his stay in Paris would be “as
brief as possible?’
SWITZERLAND
The Swiss Conservative Party having
submitted a comprehensive Note opposing
the direct federal tax, there follows a
similar Memorandum from the Union of
Commerce and Industry, the Union of Arts
and Crafts, and the Bankers’ Association
to the Federal Department of Finance and
Customs, objecting to any increase of
direct centralised taxation and taking the
impost for national defence as a case in
point. This Memorandum is a reply to the
report of the experts upon the reform of
federal taxation. It is pointed out that
the idea of the direct federal tax is at
variance with the constitution, that^t
tends towards centralisation, is expensive
to collect, is unfair in its incidence, and
creates a double levy. The principle of the
confederacy as against that of centralised
government is argued in the Memorandum,
which justifies the reluctance of the
Cantons (shown especially by the French-
speaking ones), to allow any encroachment
upon their rights. A similar insistence on
cantonal rights, it may be recalled, marked
the holding of a referendum on federal
co-ordination of transport in the Spring.
The Memorandum contains alternative
proposals for fiscal reform.
The Federal Commission for Rhine
transport has recently held several meet
ings under the presidency The name given to each of the three divisions of the territory of the East India Company, and later the British Raj, on the Indian subcontinent. of M. Robert
Grimm. Owing to the large amount of
freight between the sea and Basle, it is
recommended that both importers and
shippers should give priority to goods of
vital importance. Meanwhile the Commis
sion is studying the question further in
case it should prove necessary to take
special measures to safeguard the food
supplies of the country.
On the 31st July, M. Petitpierre, the
head of the Political Department,
expressed his views privately on the
Marshall Plan.’ He considered it to be
vital for Europe that the “ Plan ” should
succeed, but this would depend upon
French agreement with the British and
Ameileans about the Ruhr; when once this
was achieved, all other problems would be
resolved. Failure upon this point would
mean failure of the “ Plan ” and a victory
for Russian policy. Switzerland could
help in certain small ways; nor did she
rule out the possibility of larger demands
being made upon her, in spite of the heavv
calls already made upon her industries and
the large credits (amounting to 250 million
francs) which she had already given under
the Washington Agreement. The chief
items she could supply were machine-tools,
vegetables and fruit. M. Petitpierre
believed that there was a sense of relief in
the satellite countries of Russia—with all
of which she has active trade relations
because Switzerland was taking part in
the conference on the “Marshall Plan.”
They regarded her as a country with no axe
to gt ind and which might even serve their
interests in connexion with the “Plan.”
The official Swiss welcome to the “ Plan ”
was outlined in Summary No. 399.